


Comfort Bacon

by Threshie



Series: De-aged Dean [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aftermath of a Case, De-Aged Dean Winchester, Fanart, Feels, Fluff, Gen, Kid Dean Winchester, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sam Winchester Takes Care of Dean Winchester, Selectively Mute Dean Winchester, fic contains art
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 17:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19361500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Threshie/pseuds/Threshie
Summary: After a witch hunt gone awry, Castiel comes home with a four-year-old Dean who won’t speak. Sam and Cas do their best to reassure him everything will be okay. (Features art of Sam and tiny Kid!Dean, plus bacon. ♥)





	Comfort Bacon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dmsilvis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dmsilvis/gifts).



That fruit looked about as mixed up as their lives. That’s all Sam could think right now. Cas and Dean had just arrived back from the witch hunt, and the fact that Cas had been the one to text that they were on their way back should have been suspicious. Sam had figured maybe Dean was busy eating a hamburger or buying beer in the gas station or something, though.

But no, instead his older brother was standing in the door, somehow transformed into a tiny four-year-old version of his adult self, wearing an oversized brown cowboy hat and holding up a container of mixed fruit.

Sam had seen Dean as an old man. He’d seen Dean as a teenage boy. Technically he had seen Dean at this exact age before, but Sam himself had just been a baby at the time, so he didn’t really remember it.

“The witch is dead, but she managed to do this first,” Castiel explained quietly, gesturing to the small boy still gazing up at Sam and holding out the fruit. “He picked that out for you himself.”

Sam stepped forward and knelt down in front of Dean, accepting the tub of fruit with a smile.

“Hey, uh, thanks, Dean. You…are you still YOU in there?”

Dean gave a solemn nod — but then he stepped closer and quickly hugged around Sam’s neck, knocking the hat off of his head in the process. Startled, Sam put both arms around him and picked him up, standing. Dean laid his head on his brother’s shoulder and clung to him, looking back at Cas.

“His memories seem intact,” the angel said, reaching to ruffle Dean’s hair. “But he’s very much a child right now, Sam. He hasn’t spoken since this happened, either. We need to figure out how to reverse it.”

Sam looked down at Dean and rubbed his back gently. He placed the tub of fruit onto the table nearby.

“Okay. Okay,” he said, trying to convince himself it was possible as well. They’d been through similar situations and had always managed to fix it before, but…the witch who cast the spell was dead. Maybe he could call Rowena, see if she’d be willing to help.

“I brought her spell bowl with some dregs of the liquid that she splashed Dean with,” Cas continued, placing the bowl on the counter beside the fruit. He added a slice of cherry pie in a little plastic to-go container, and Sam had to smile. Dean was probably as safe and comfortable as he could be with Cas there to take care of him.

Why did he seem so scared now, then?

“Dean,” Sam told his brother, “Hey, you still awake?” A tiny nod against his shoulder confirmed it, but Dean didn’t say a word. Sam swayed back and forth, rocking him a little. “We’re gonna figure this out, don’t worry,” he promised Dean. It was his job to take care of his big brother for once. “Are you hungry? I see Cas got you some pie.”

Dean shook his head, though, snuggling closer to him. Cas watched this and sighed, leaning to pick up the cowboy hat off of the floor. He stepped close and held it up for Dean to see.

“I’m going to put your hat over here, Dean,” the angel said, placing the hat on the table. “It’s safe now.”

Dean sat his head up to watch this, then gave a nod like he approved. Sam couldn’t help staring a little. It was very much Dean, every freckle the same, and yet he was so little.

Noticing the staring, Dean turned his head and stared back. They were practically nose to tiny, cute button nose. Sam smiled wryly and patted the kid’s head.

“Let’s save the pie for later,” he said. “Maybe you’d like something that isn’t sweet. Maybe…uh, let’s see what we’ve got…” He carried Dean over and looked inside the fridge.

The little boy seriously inspected each takeout container and jug of milk on the shelves along with Sam. There was a plate of bacon Dean had stuck in there that morning after they had to roll for the case in the middle of breakfast. When Dean saw it now, his eyes lit up, and he reached a little hand out toward the plate.

Sam couldn’t help a small chuckle.

“Yeah, you definitely have all your memories in there,” he told his brother, picking a slice of bacon off of the plate and offering it to him. Dean took the bacon and held it carefully, looking up at him. Sam looked back, blinking. “Aren’t you gonna eat it?”

Dean looked at the bacon, then hugged it up to his chest and shook his head, green eyes sad.

“That’s okay! That’s fine, you can just hold onto it for awhile,” Sam assured him, feeling guilty. The bunker didn’t have any kid-friendly stuff, really, just dusty old books, dangerous weapons, and a whole lot of tables and chairs. Was a slice of bacon really the best comforting item they could come up with for a small child?

Closing the fridge, Sam turned back to Cas. Dean went back to leaning against his brother’s shoulder, hugging the bacon close like it was a teddy bear or something. It was both a little sad and a little funny. Comfort bacon really did seem like a Dean kind of thing. Sam was going to have to give the kid a bath after this; he was getting bacon grease all over his hand.

“Cas, I know this’s a weird thing to ask, but…could you go buy him some toys?” Sam asked the angel sheepishly. “Kid-safe stuff, plushies, nothing tiny he could eat.” Not that Dean seemed that hungry in his tiny form… But no choking hazards was a good rule anyway. “Try, uh, try Disney, or Batman stuff,” Sam suggested.

Cas rested a hand on Dean’s back, smiling at him.

“I’m sure I can find him something, Sam. I’ll be back soon, Dean, okay?”

The little boy nodded solemnly, eyelids heavy. That’s right, most kids took naps, didn’t they?

“We’ll figure this out,” Sam promised again, patting his back. Dean responded by placing a small hand on his cheek.

When Sam looked at him and saw that he was silently saying, ‘Sammy’ his heart broke a little. This was a kid, but it was still Dean. How must he be feeling right now? Sam couldn’t imagine how he would feel in Dean’s place.

He had to fix this.

“I’m right here, Dean,” he murmured. Dean laid his head on Sam’s shoulder again, snuggling closer into his flannel shirt. Sam rested his cheek lightly against his brother’s hair, watching Cas go up the stairs to head for the store.

Once Sam got Dean to take a nap, then he could research how to reverse the spell. If things went well, by the time Castiel returned with the toys, they wouldn’t even need them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading my fic! I didn't set out to create a fic series when I drew the first pics and wrote a fic to go with, but by golly I did anyway. 
> 
> This fic is gifted to my friend Dmsilvis for coming up with the term "comfort bacon." It's so cute, and I hope you like how it's been added in here. ♥
> 
> I hope you've all been enjoying the artwork as well -- now Sam's here, but Dean's still not talking just yet. What will it take? 
> 
> Comments and kudos always appreciated! ♥


End file.
